8.6.3 Ensure virtual disk wiping is disabled

Information

Wiping a virtual disk reclaims all unused space in it. If there is empty space in the disk, this process reduces the amount of space the virtual disk occupies on the host drive. If virtual disk wiping is done repeatedly, it can cause the virtual disk to become unavailable while wiping occurs. In most datacenter environments, disk wiping is not needed, but normal users and processes--without administrative privileges--can issue disk wipes unless the feature is disabled.

Rationale:

Virtual disk wiping can effectively cause a denial of service.

Solution

To disable virtual disk wiping, run the following PowerCLI command:

# Add the setting to all VMs
Get-VM | New-AdvancedSetting -Name 'isolation.tools.diskWiper.disable' -value $true

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/8020

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT, SYSTEM AND SERVICES ACQUISITION

References: 800-53|CM-1, 800-53|CM-2, 800-53|CM-6, 800-53|CM-7, 800-53|CM-7(1), 800-53|CM-9, 800-53|SA-3, 800-53|SA-8, 800-53|SA-10, CSCv7|9.1

Plugin: VMware

Control ID: 678f476f0024f7cbbe98f4fd3a9e1ea4df056fee443d8d9aec17dd5f7db3d26d